A Special Meaning
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: Ratchet's off with Captain Qwark for the night, and because the Lombax feels bad for leaving Clank by himself, he calls Elaris to come by Veldin keep the little warbot company. ClankxElaris oneshot.
Ratchet's tail swished back and forth as he shoved half of himself into the supply closet. His curious green eyes scanned the contents of the closet, searching for the necessary resource that he needed. He smiled as he located what he what looking for.

"Ah! There it is!" The Lombax said, grabbing a orange and black duffle bag. He carried it upstairs and plopped it down onto his bed. His friend Clank, who was sitting on the bed with the latest issue of Science Monthly, watched as Ratchet grabbed some supplies (flashlight, snacks, a fold up chair, etc.) and packed them into the bag. Ratchet glanced at his friend before he continued to pack, "Now I'll only be gone for tonight. I should be back tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Yes, but...where are you going exactly?" Clank asked, tilting his head.

"Ummm...I'm going on a stakeout with Captain Qwark. On Planet...Quartu." Ratchet avoided making eye contact with the robot as he grabbed an armful of what appeared to be random items and began dumping them into the bag.

Clank gave Ratchet a quizzical look, "A stakeout on Quartu? What is there to look for? That planet has been abandoned ever since the Blarg evacuated it and the warbot factory there shut down."

"Er, we're taking very...big measure to make sure that...no warbots are around."

The warbot wasn't able to make any sense of that. And he couldn't help but notice the uneven tone in Ratchet's voice. Something wasn't right. Clank narrowed his eyes, "Your tone seems very off. It is almost like you are hiding something...or even lying."

"Lying! Ha!" Ratchet chuckled, turning to the robot. "Why...wh-why would I lie?"

"And, now that I think about it, you and Captain Qwark seemed extraordinarily interested in that Zero Gravity Mixed Martial Art Championship that they announced last week. The one that is being held on Kalebo III?"

"'Zero Gravity Mixed Martial Arts Championship'? You think that Qwark and I are going to it? And you think that I'm lying about it to you? Clank, come on, it's me. I would never do that! What? You don't trust your best friend?" It was then that a poster dropped out of Ratchet's bag and fell to the floor, rolling out in the process. On it, there was a picture of two Argorians fighting each other in zero gravity. Clank put his hands on his waist and looked up at Ratchet, who rubbed the back of his neck, shame on his face. He rolled the poster back up and shoved it back into the bag. He zipped up the bag and put it on his shoulder, "Eheh...heh...I'll be back around 10:00 tomorrow."

"Hmph," Clank grunted, giving his friend a disapproving look.

"Look, Qwark paid for the tickets, and I couldn't turn it down! And I wanted to bring you, I really did, but Qwark said no. I'm sorry, pal. Don't think that I'm ditching you or anything." Clank didn't say anything, he just picked up his magazine and continued to read it. Ratchet's ears lowered, "Aw come on, don't be like that. You're making me feel bad!" Still nothing. Ratchet sighed and tried to think of something. He rubbed the top of his head and looked at his soon-to-be-lonely friend. "Look, I feel really bad for just leaving you here by yourself, I really do. So how about you call a friend and have them come over here for the evening?"

"Who would I call?" Clank asked, peeking over his magazine.

"I dunno...Elaris?"

At the sound of that name, the warbot's face went red, and he tried to hide it behind his magazine. Elaris come here? To his home? When no one was around? That a recipe for...well, Clank didn't want to say due to embarrassment. Ratchet raised an eyebrow at Clank's lack of an answer. Clank noticed this and cleared his throat, still trying to hide his blushing face. It was true that having Elaris here would be awkward with no one else around, but she was one of the only friends that he had. Plus, Cora and Brax weren't really people that he would want to spend time with alone.

So, swallowing any feeling of nervousness and embarrassment, Clank nodded. "I guess Elaris coming here would be an acceptable idea."

"Sweet, here's my phone." Ratchet pulled his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Clank, who caught it in both of his metal hands. "Go ahead and call her and see if she's available."

"M-Me...call her...?" The warbot murmured as Ratchet went downstairs. He looked down at the shiny orange metal phone. A nervousness in his systems made his joints become tense. Why...why did he have to be the one to call Elaris and ask her to come over? Why couldn't Ratchet do it? He had time! Clank gulped as he tapped on the phone and pinched the top part, flipping it open and revealing a Galactic Ranger background. Shaky fingers tapped on the keypad and went to the contacts.

 **Brax**

 **Captain Qwark**

 **Clank**

 **Cora**

 **[Elaris]**

 **Grim**

 **Zed**

Clank blinked as the cursor laid on Elaris's contact number. He could feel his heart pulsing at a rapid rate. This didn't make any sense, he thought, why was he getting so worked up over calling Elaris? She was his friend after all...and only his friend...nothing else. So there was no reason to be so nervous. Just call her, ask her to come over, get the response, and hang up. Easy, right...?

Right?

The warbot stared at the name 'Elaris' for several long seconds. The beginning to set Veldin sun slowly moving through the still sky and making golden beams shoot through the garage, showing that time in the day was running out. The robot's finger hovered over the call button. He was so close to talking to her, all he had to do was press the button...however...he refused to press it. His joints wouldn't let him. His nervousness had gotten the best of him and his systems. Clank's eyes narrowed in a sad position and a look of defeat came onto his face. He sighed and buried his face into Ratchet's comforter.

"I am a pathetic specimen of the robotic race..."

Ratchet came back up the steps, the duffle bag no longer with him, "Captain Qwark should be here in a minute. Come on down so...what are you doing? Did you call Elaris?"

"No, I did not..." Clank replied, not looking up.

"Why not?"

"I...i do not know...I could not do it...and I do not know why..."

"...Ohhh, I see what's goin' on here. Come on, pal, is the oldest pathetic fear in the book."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen this in every cliched romance story ever. The shy guy who has a crush on the pretty chick tries to call her but he gets too nervous and decides to just give up on life. Have you called yourself pathetic yet?"

"Yes, I have."

"Ah, I see, so you're pretty far in. Heheh...heh..." Ratchet smiled at Clank, but the robot simply put his face back in the comforter. His ears lowered, "Aw, pal. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get enough courage to do it...and I'll help you."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"Yeah, in fact I'll help you right now."

"In what way?"

"...Hey, what's that?!" Ratchet suddenly yelled, pointing out the window.

"What?" Clank jumped and looked to where he was pointing. He quickly scanned the area for anything that was out of the ordinary. However, when his scan was complete, he found that everything was normal. Nothing was wrong. So why would Ratchet say...?

"Hey, Elaris, you doin' anything tonight?" Ratchet said, holding the phone up to his ear. Clank went wide eyed and whipped his head towards Ratchet. What was he doing?! "No? Sweet! Cause uh...I'm goin' with Captain Qwark on a stakeout on Quartu and I feel really bad for leaving Clank home by himself. So could you maybe swing by the garage on Veldin and keep him company for a few hours?"

"Ratchet..." Clank growled as his face turned bright red. Ratchet was making him sound like a child.

The robot sat on the bed with an angry look and red face as Ratchet finished up the conversation and closed his phone. He looked at the disapproving Clank and raised an eyebrow.

"...What?"

"I did not need you to do that."

"Huh, that's an odd way of saying 'thank you'." Clank's eyes narrowed and he put his hands on his waist. Ratchet knew that he was mad, but he couldn't help but laugh. He could never take this robot seriously when he was irritated. And laughing at Clank just made the warbot even more angry.

"This is not funny! You made me sound like a child!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," the Lombax said, calming down. He took a deep breath and stood up straight, "Anyway, Elaris is coming. The TV up here is all yours for tonight. I have by account open so you guys can watch those movies about the wizard kid that you have the books about. You know...nerd stuff like that." Clank nodded, feeling better since Ratchet apologized and offered him the TV for the night. Ratchet grabbed the railing to the staircase and began walking down it. But, before he was out of sight, he looked over his shoulder, "And stay out of my bed!"

"What?! Ratchet, wh-why would you think that?! That is extremely inappropriate! Elaris and I would never...wh-wh-why would we ever...you are being ridiculous-"

"N-No, I meant, like, don't sleep in it...cause you have your own bed...so there's no reason to sleep in mine tonight..." The Lombax said, giving Clank a strange and somewhat disturbed look.

Clank had a blank expression on his face. A surge of embarrassment shot through his systems. He blinked a few times, "...Oh. W-Well, I will make sure that I um...that I do not sleep in your bed tonight."

The two stared at each other for several long and awkward moments before Ratchet shook his head and walked down the rest of the stairs, "You're a real weirdo, pal. But then again, so am I, so I don't really have room to talk, heheh. Alright, Clank, I'll see ya tomorrow morning! Make sure to close everything up, alright? See ya!"

Clank got off of the bed and went to the top of the staircase and waved to his friend as he left the garage. Then he quickly turned around, slammed his back against the wall and slid down on it until he was on the floor. Great, he thought, now Ratchet was going to be teasing him about him and Elaris for the next few days. Like he needed that to happen. The robot sighed, stood up, and looked around the room. If Elaris was coming over, then he should probably tidy the place up a bit...even though everything here was Ratchet's mess.

Elaris arrived at the garage fifteen minutes after Clank had started cleaning. Luckily the robot had just finished when she landed outside in a Galactic Ranger Star Jumper. She walked inside and called out to Clank, who told her that he was on the upper floor.

Elaris came up the stairs and looked around for Clank. She saw him standing on the workbench and smiled, walking over to him and hugging him. "Hi, Clank. How's my favorite little robot doing?"

"I am doing well, thank you." Clank replied. Before he could ask for her wellbeing, Elaris turned around and looked at the room she was in.

"So, this is where you live. I've been here before but I've never actually seen your room. It's nice."

"Actually, this is more of Ratchet's room. I, in a way, moved into it."

"Wait, but if this is Ratchet's room, where do you sleep?" Elaris asked him.

"I sleep right here on the workbench. It is not the most comfortable bed, but I have grown used to it."

"The workbench? That's strange...but, hey! Looks like you can sleep in Ratchet's bed tonight." Clank's face turned red once again as Elaris mentioned the bed. That was something that he didn't want to be reminded of at the moments. Luckily, Elaris moved the conversation by sitting on the bed and looking at him. "So, what do you want to do?"

Clank shook the red out of his face and blinked a few times. Then he jumped forward and activating his Heli-Pack, landing on the bed and next to Elaris. "Well, I was thinking that we could simply relax and watch a movie."

"That sounds like fun," she replied with a smile. "What did you want to watch?"

"Hmm...Ratchet did mention Garry Porter earlier, or as he likes to call it, 'nerd stuff'."

"Ooh, I love Garry Porter! But which one should we watch?"

"Erm...Half-Moon Duke perhaps?" Clank asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, that's a good one. Let's do it," Elaris said happily.

Clank nodded and grabbed the TV remote that Ratchet hid under his pillow. He went to the option in the TV guide and selected Garry Porter and the Half-Moon Duke. The small warbot then sat down about two feet from Elaris, who was sitting crisscrossed in order to be a bit more comfortable. The movie began and absorbed most of Elaris's attention, but it didn't take up too much of Clank's. Though he wanted to pay attention to the movie, especially the part when one of the professors disguised himself as a starship pilot seat, he always found that part to be amusing, but instead, he found himself throwing occasional glances at the girl next to him. He couldn't stop himself from doing it, and it was becoming distracting to him. It was indeed strange.

A good way into the movie, Clank had managed to control himself and stopped looking at Elaris every ten seconds. He was finally enjoying the movie. At the moment, Garry was doubting the amount of trust he could put into the Half-Moon Duke's book, since he had nearly killed another student with one of the spells written inside the book. His best friend's sister, Gina, whom Garry had a crush on, was taking him to a hidden room so she could hide the book from him. However, things started to get fairly sappy when Garry and Gina kissed in the room. Elaris smiled.

"Awww..." Clank looked at her and tilted his head. She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. It's just so sweet."

The warbot blinked at his friend as he analyzed her behavior. Elaris seemed to have been taking great interest in the romance that was occurring in the film at the moment. There was a big smile on her face as she watched Garry and Gina express their love for one another. Was she interested in that romance? Was she interested in romance in general? If...if...i-if Clank were to do something like that now...would...would she like it? The warbot blushed a bit as he pondered this.

The truth was...Ratchet was right. Clank _did_ have a crush on Elaris, that was why he was so nervous to call her and ask her to come over. And who could blame him? Elaris was one of the smartest women in the galaxy, not to mention that she had a kind and caring personality, and she shared almost all of the same interests as him. And she was one of the only people in the universe who really understood him. That sounded super sappy and cliched, but it was the truth. Clank was a defect and a total nerd, and Elaris liked him like that. The warbot didn't know if any other female in the universe would accept him as much as she did. That was why he liked her. That was why he...why he loved her. And that was why he was slowly scooting down the bed and closer to Elaris.

"I'm glad that the writer put Garry with Gina," Elaris said, "I mean, Hillary is great and all, but she doesn't really belong with Garry. Do you agree, Cla-" She looked over at Clank, only to see that he was much closer to her now than he was earlier. She lifted an eyebrow at him as he looked up with her with bright green eyes, "Uhh...you weren't there before."

Clank tilted his head and looked at his position, then his green eyes went wide and his face turned red from embarrassment. The warbot quickly scooted to the other side of the bed, "I-I am sorry, Elaris! I must have umm...I-I uumm...slid down very slowly a-and...umm..."

Much to Clank's surprise, Elaris chuckled and gave Clank a warm smile. "Clank, if you wanted to sit with me, all you had to do was ask. I don't mind."

"You do not?"

"Of course not." Elaris reached over and picked the little robot up, "Who wouldn't want to sit with a little cutie like yourself?"

"Hehehehehe!" Clank giggled as he blushed.

Elaris set the warbot down next to her and placed a hand on his arm. Clank smiled and his blush increased. She wanted to sit with him the entire time. Knowing that made his heart skip a pulse.

The rest of the movie past by in a blur of spells, caves full or fire and dying headmasters. The whole time Clank sat with Elaris, her hand gently holding his arm. It would tighten and loosen based on the action in the scene. Every time it did, Clank would notice, but he didn't say anything about it. He was afraid that Elaris would feel bad and think that her hand was bothering him. Though it was true that there were times that her hand was a distraction, he didn't want her to remove it. Clank couldn't find a logical explanation for it, but he found a great joy in Elaris holding him like that. He would have to ask Ratchet to explain it when he got back in the morning.

Clank grabbed the remote and turned the television off. Two and a half hours were now gone, and the Veldin sun had disappeared and brought out the glow of nearby planets and shiny waves of multicolor novas. It was officially nighttime. And Elaris showed that she knew that by yawning. She removed her hand from Clank and stood up so she could stretch, then she walked over to the window and looked outside. Clank blinked his bright green eyes and wondered what she was looking at.

"Wow...Veldin is beautiful at night." She took another good look outside before she got an idea. She looked over her shoulder at Clank, "Hey, do you want to go outside and look at the stars like we did on Aridia?"

Clank smiled and nodded, "That sounds very enjoyable."

Elaris and Clank went down the stairs and closed up the garage before going outside into the lukewarm Veldin night. Heliogrubs wandered around the area, lighting up the area for anyone who needed to find their way around. Elaris looked up at the sky and then around the area.

"Do you know any good spots for watching the stars? You know this planet better than me."

"Hmm..." Clank placed a digit on his chin and through to himself for a moment. He nodded, "Yes, I do know a place not too far from here. If you would kindly follow me."

"Lead away, little guy," Elaris said, letting Clank walk in front. The small robot led her away from the garage and across the Kyzil Plateau. Heliogrubs stopped and watched them pass by, then they returned to their pointless wandering. As they walked, a question came to Elaris's mind, "Hey, now that I think about it, where's your boss and Zed? Don't they live at the garage, too?"

"Yes, they do live at the garage as well, but Mr. Grimroth went on a trip to Pokitaru to visit his brother, Felton. Zed went with him in hopes of being paid overtime."

"So that's why you're here by yourself...wait, why didn't Ratchet take you on his stakeout with Captain Qwark? Ratchet takes you everywhere he goes."

"Hmph, so he told you that lie as well?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ratchet and Captain Qwark are not on Quartu on Ranger business. Instead, they are at the Zero Gravity Mixed Martial Arts Championships on Kalebo III."

"What! And they didn't invite you? Ratchet was just okay with leaving you here by yourself? What a jerky Lombax," Elaris said, very displeased with Ratchet now. "And if the money they used to by the tickets for the fight came out of my office budget, I swear to the Zoni, I'll...well, I don't know actually."

"Well...we could mess with them in some way," Clank said.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. We could...lock down the cafeteria on meatloaf day. That would be pretty funny," Elaris said with an amused smile.

"It would be indeed. Hehehehe!" The warbot couldn't help but laugh as he imagined Qwark hopelessly trying to get into the cafeteria so he could have a piece of meatloaf. Clank then stopped laughing as he realized that they were in the right location. It was definitely the right canyon. It was like his sensors could still detect traces of ship smoke, though it had crashed months ago. "Here we are."

"Here?" Elaris asked, looking around. There didn't seem to be anything special about this are. "Why here?"

"Do you see that canyon?" Clank asked, pointing to a nearby canyon.

"Yes."

"That canyon is where my shipped crashed after I escaped Chairman Drek's warbot factory. This is where Ratchet found me." The warbot looked up, as did Elaris. "Whenever we come back from a mission or whenever Mr. Grimroth makes us leave the garage, Ratchet and I come over here and sit on the ground and simply talk. I do not know why Ratchet always wants to talk over here, though."

"Maybe it's because it reminds him of the first time that you two talked to each other," Elaris said, sitting down on the ground. "Or the time that the person who would lead him to a life of adventure crashed near his home."

"Or perhaps he likes this area because it has a very pleasant view of the stars. I told you that this was a nice place for viewing them."

"Or," she said, rolling her eyes because Clank wasn't getting what she was saying. Clank was very smart, but he was still young and sometimes clueless. Elaris reached forward and picked the robot up. "Maybe it reminds him about when the little robot who would become his best friend came here."

"Hmm...do you really think that Ratchet likes this area because it is where I crash landed?" Clank asked, looking down into the canyon.

"Yep. Don't forget, Clank, without you, Ratchet would have never became a Galactic Ranger. And, not to sound mean or anything, but...he probably wouldn't have had any friends either. I bet that the day you came here was one of the best days of his life."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. It was a very special day to him. Just like the day that you were assigned to be my assistant by Captain Qwark."

Clank blinked a few times before tilting his head, "The day that I became your assistant is special to you?"

"Of course. You know that I'm not treated too well by the other Rangers, and they never listen to me, no matter what it is I have to say. Well when I found out that I was getting an assistant who was a robot that had an affinity for technology and science, I was thrilled. From the moment that Brax brought you to my office, I knew that I was going to enjoy being with you. And it's true, I really do enjoy being around you, Clank. You could even say that I love you."

Clank's eyes went wide and his mouth hung open a bit at the sound of that last sentence. Elaris smiled sheepishly, "O-Oh, i'm sorry, I didn't mean to um...I-I made things awkward, didn't I?"

"...To other people you might have. But not for me," the small robot said, smiling a bit at her. "You could even say that...I love you, as well."

Elaris went a bit wide eyed and her face went a bit red, but she was still smiling. She set the robot down in front of her and the two stared at each other, their green eyes bonding together to create a gentle green glow between the two. Elaris placed her hands on Clank's shoulders and kissed him on the head. Small steps they told each other through their stares. They were both still young after all. But Elaris still managed to sneak a small one on him, which made the robot's face grow bright red, since he had never been kissed anywhere else than on top of his head and cheek. Elaris chuckled and placed another kiss on his head. Then she placed her forehead on his, resulting in another cute green eyelock between them. She smiled as the red in her face remained.

"Now this place is going to hold a special meaning to the two of us, too."

* * *

 **Longest ClankxElaris oneshot! Whoo! Claris! (Thanks for the shipping name Jak Cooper the Lombax).**

 **Next up on the update list: Clone Home. I'm actually gonna update it twice before moving on to the next story. So, if you really like that story, you're in luck.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, pledger to Tobuscus, signing off!**


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